Encyclopedia
Every molecule that touches your hair
From proven medicines to kitchen-cupboard oils, with the studies behind each one.
10 entries
A
-
growth stimulant
Adenosine (topical)
Adenosine, a natural signalling molecule, is the cosmetic hair active with the cleanest small placebo-controlled trials, mainly making thin hairs thicker.
C
-
antiandrogen
Clascoterone
A topical androgen blocker already approved as an acne cream whose 5% scalp solution reported positive phase 3 results in men; it is not yet approved for hair.
D
-
antiandrogen
Dutasteride
A stronger cousin of finasteride that blocks both forms of the DHT-making enzyme and grew more hair than finasteride in head-to-head trials.
F
-
antiandrogen
Finasteride
A prescription pill (and in some countries a scalp spray) that lowers DHT and is the best-proven drug for stopping male pattern hair loss.
-
antiandrogen
Fluridil
A topical antiandrogen designed to break down in the skin; its only human evidence is one small 2002 trial by its inventors.
G
-
antiandrogen
GT20029
A topical drug that tags the androgen receptor for destruction instead of just blocking it; a 12-week phase 2 in Chinese men showed modest gains.
M
-
growth stimulant
Minoxidil
The most widely used hair-growth treatment, available as a cheap over-the-counter lotion or foam and as a prescription tablet, with a mechanism that is still only partly understood.
P
-
antiandrogen
Pyrilutamide
A topical androgen blocker from the Chinese company Kintor that reported positive pivotal results in China; no peer-reviewed efficacy paper yet.
R
-
botanical
Rosemary oil
Rosemary oil became the internet's "natural minoxidil" from one small 2015 trial that had no placebo group and has never been replicated.
-
antiandrogen
RU58841
A topical androgen blocker from the 1990s that grew hair in animal and graft models but has no human efficacy trial and is sold online as a research chemical.